1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to dispensers of vaporizable substances. More particularly, the invention relates to air fresheners for dispensing fragrant and/or deodorizing compositions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Air fresheners for dispensing fragrances, deodorizers and the like are well known and generally comprise a container or shell for retaining a liquid with a wick exposed to ambient or an absorbent pad impregnated with the liquid form of the substance to be dispensed and exposed to ambient. Alternatively, air fresheners may include a solid gelled form of the substance rather than an impregnated pad. In any event, the prior art air fresheners also include some means for sealing the container prior to use so that they may be opened by the consumer as needed.
Air freshener dispensers may be configured in varying degrees of complexity generally dictated by the desired size of the area to be treated, duration of useful life, type of vaporizable substance, aesthetic appearance, etc. The dispensers may have a fixed or variable rate of delivery of the active substance and the dispenser containers are often made of moldable plastic materials. Sealing means to seal the dispenser prior to use may comprise any means compatible with the container of the vaporizable substance, e.g. threaded caps, sealing tape, outer impermeable shipping packages, etc. While there appear to be many known air freshener configurations, there is still a need for an inexpensive air freshener capable of being easily sealed prior to use. All known air fresheners are undesirably costly to manufacture. Examples of some known air fresheners are described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,258,004 (Valenzona et al) discloses a type of air freshener containing an absorbent pad impregnated with a scented liquid, the pad being contained within a dispenser having variable size openings and an adhesive means for sticking the dispenser to a desired mounting surface. The air freshener disclosed in this patent comprises a plurality of components which are costly to manufacture and assemble.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,684 (Schimanski) discloses another type of air freshener having a simpler construction comprising a unitary outer shell provided with a plurality of fixed openings, means for retaining an impregnated pad and means for adhesively securing the air freshener to a mounting surface. While simpler in construction than the Valenzona device, the Schimanski device still requires the manufacture and use of a separate sealing component which must be applied to the air freshener prior to use and removed by the consumer a desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,797,742 (Clark et al) shows a simple rectilinear container type air freshener provided with a separate foil seal to be removed prior to use. While seemingly inexpensive, the use of a separate component undesirably increases manufacturing complexity.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,268 (Brun) discloses a dispenser which is provided with an integral sealing mechanism which may easily be removed by the consumer prior to use. However, this device also does not lend itself to simplified manufacture and use. The Brun device requires that a plurality of pieces of the package of the dispenser be removed to permit air circulation within the device. Moreover, the Brun device does not enable it to be inobstrusively secured to a mounting surface.
All of the known prior art devices suffer some disadvantage. It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide an air freshener having a unitary, moldable container provided with an integral sealing means to be opened prior to use.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an air freshener having a minimal number of components which are able to be assembled with a minimal number of manufacturing steps.